3-Day Post-Op Visit After Hardware Removal

October 2018

Blood seepage and doc visit

I am posting a brief update for those of you that have questions about blood seepage after surgery. I wrote in my last post about how I was concerned with all of the blood on my bandage, since I had not experienced this after my first two surgeries. There are photos showing the amount of blood lost in my previous post. According to my doctor, this sometimes happens, and he did not seem concerned. There were two spots on my incisions that had fresh blood spots, which he dabbed, and then wrapped my foot back up. 

I thought my foot looked pretty gruesome when the bandage was removed. My stitches look more like frankenstein than they had before! I am afraid I am going to have some nasty scarring after this heals. My doctor had said I was going to have two small incisions, and I have two large nasty-looking ones.

I removed the photo of my foot showing the stitches that I originally shared because I had a complaint--even though this blog is meant to provide information and not to provoke disgust. Feel free to contact me, if you are interested is seeing a view of the differences between dissolvable inside stitches and exterior stitches. The scarring that I have from these two incisions with exterior stitches is worse than what I have from the dissolvable stitches on my other foot. 

Bunion Hardware Removal and Scraping

October 2018

After my last post in May 2018, my right foot healed pretty much the same as my left had in 2017. The only difference I noticed, is that I had more stiffness in my big toe than I recalled with my left foot, and my foot did not feel like it stepped down correctly/flat on the ground. I am writing this post two days post-op, and this 3rd surgery experience is even more different than my first two. Starting at the beginning...

Pre-op visit September 2018

I have been seeing a different doctor in the office, since my checkup in May when my original doctor had me return to get a second opinion. I am much happier with this doctor. He shows me the X-rays and explains everything, and he is more observant. For example, I had noticed two things after my second surgery, which he discussed with me before I had a chance to bring them up. One, is the way my foot set on the floor, and the second is that the bunion protrusion on my right foot was still pronounced; more so than my left foot after my surgery on that foot. It was kind of like they had not corrected that area as much on my right foot, as they had on my left foot. This is more visible in the photo if you click on it to enlarge it. The problem I have with my big toe pressing against my first toe is that I get blisters between these two toes when I walk or hike a lot.

My feet 2 days before surgery

#5 ~ Week Two, Second Checkup, Stitches Removed, New Cast

March 2017

Pain and swelling

My foot pain was minimal the second week. Sure, I could feel discomfort on the top of my foot where the stitches were, and I am sure it would be painful, if my foot got bumped; however, I did not experience continual or severe pain. It was mildly painful when I wiggled my toes, which I had a difficult time with. Just like the first week, most of my discomfort came from the wrapping around my leg and foot. It felt like my toes were all scrunched together, especially my pinky toe. This contributed to me being unable to wiggle them much. The gauze between my big toe and first toe was extremely uncomfortable, as was the wrapping over the top of my big toe around the knuckle area. It felt like my ankle was still swollen at times, causing discomfort in this area. I could not wait for my second checkup to have the wrapping removed! The firm backing/support behind my leg was too tall for me, and I planned to ask the doctor to cut this down, if my leg was going to be wrapped the same way. I continued using an ice pack under my knee for a few days, which felt like it helped the swelling initially. It did not feel like this was helping after a few days, so I did not continue to use it regularly. Instead, I raised my leg higher or did leg exercises to help reduce the swelling and discomfort.

Activity

I continued with yoga daily, and I did the leg exercises about 5 or 6 times a day. Since I was moving around more, I did not do the leg lifts and bends as frequently as I had the first week when I was more inactive than active. I thought (or, hoped!) maybe my belly would become rock hard from the leg lifts and bends everyday. I did them for 5+ minutes each time; about 50 leg lefts and bends on each leg each time, and I did not see any evidence of this yet. I did, however, feel as though my leg strength was increasing.

We went out to dinner the second week. I am sure my husband wanted a break from all the dinner prep and cleanup! 😉 I did not have too much difficulty getting around with my crutches, and sitting in the restaurant was comfortable enough. I thought one of the most difficult actions was going up and down steps - Not the carpeted stairs to our basement that I schooched up and down, but the two cement steps from the porch in front of our house, and the restaurant steps with no railings. I had to be strong enough and stable enough to hop up and down each step, and then move the crutches. The drive/ride was just over a half hour one-way.

#4 ~ The First Week and First Checkup

February 2017

I had read about many different experiences that people had with this type of surgery, so I was not sure exactly what to expect. Some people said they had no pain, and others said they were practically bed-ridden in severe pain the first two weeks, or longer. Possibly, the different experiences may have to do with the doctors and procedure type, the severity of the person's situation, and/or the person's health. 

A brief reminder/summary of my situation: the bunion itself was not painful, although it caused other problems as my big toe pressed against my other toes; my surgery took less than 1½ hours, my bunion bone had been shaved/cut, and I had two screws in my foot; I am in my mid-50s, and I was healthy and active before surgery. Additionally, I had twisted my ankle falling on the ice a few weeks before surgery. My ankle had healed in terms of walking on it; however, it was still a bit swollen at times. My primary physician had told me this is normal, especially since I have a bit of arthritis in my joints.

Pain and swelling

The places where I felt pain from the surgery were the top of my foot closer to the ankle, and around my big toe. My greatest discomfort, however, was around my entire foot, just below the ankle and heel, where the foot connects to the leg. This area around my entire foot (not just the top part) became especially painful and throbbed when I exercised my leg. When I went for my first checkup, I found out this is because my ankle was so swollen. There is more about this under the checkup heading father down in this post.

#3 ~ The Day of Surgery

February 2017

At home in the morning

We needed to be at the surgery center at 6:30 a.m. My instructions said to wash the foot I would be having surgery on with anti-bacterial soap for 5 minutes. My body was also supposed to be free of all nail polish, jewelry, and any lotions or scents; including deodorant. I took a shower that morning, and then did not apply any lotions. I used my usual shampoo and conditioners on my hair, which did not cause any issues at the surgery center.

Since I would not be able to get jeans or similar pants over my leg after surgery, I opted to wear a calf-length sweater dress, which easily slipped over my head. And remember, I could not consume anything - not even water. I had been specifically told to spit out any toothpaste, and not to swallow any water, if I brushed my teeth. Which, of course, I did! Along with mouthwash, too...

Prep for surgery

At the surgical center, we went through the basic admitting process: insurance info, questions about my identity and what I was there for, confirmation of any allergies and medications, and so forth. I was in the operating room with my two physicians and assistants before 7:30 a.m. 

#2 ~ Preparing for Surgery

February 2017

Pre-op exams

I had an office visit with both my foot doctor and regular physician a few weeks before the scheduled surgery date to make sure I was healthy enough for surgery. I have always been a healthy person with nothing out of the ordinary, and the only experience that was new for me during my pre-op exams was that I had an EKG at my doctor's office.

My foot doctor gave me three prescriptions to fill: Norco (pain killer for after the surgery), crutches, and a knee roller. I asked him if there were any exercises I could do beforehand that would assist with the healing process, and he said no. He said that since I am quite active (yoga, walking/hiking, biking, etc.), I would already be ahead of many patients. Even so, my projected recovery time was 6 to 8 weeks non-weight bearing with 3 to 4 months total recovery time. Yikes! I guess there are two types of bunion surgery, and mine was the more severe kind, needing two physicians to perform the operation.